The AIMIM leader should be prudent in accepting Z-category security

There is an unusual kind of soft interaction going on these days between All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi and the BJP-led Union Government. Ever since his vehicle was fired upon on February 3 in Uttar Pradesh, Owaisi had been raising hell and demanding ‘insaaf’ for himself. The “double-engine” Government, understandably on the back foot following the incident, was quick to offer him Z-category security. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said a Government assessment had found that Owaisi still faced security threat, but the Hyderabad MP had refused to take the CRPF cover. Speaking politely and sounding concerned, Shah again requested “Owaisi ji to accept the security to address our concerns about his safety”. Owaisi had outright rejected the Government’s proposal to provide him Z-category security (with a bulletproof) car. Hours later, the AIMIM leader reiterated that he remained firm on not taking it. This time, quite heroically, he declared: “Owaisi will be safe once the Dalits, the downtrodden and the minorities of this country are safe. I don’t like people with arms around me. I am a free bird, I want to live freely.”

Interesting to observe, also, is the nonchalance of Opposition leaders. Except SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s KT Rama Rao, no Opposition leader of any weight has condemned the attack on Owaisi — not the Gandhis, not Mamata Banerjee, Jagan Mohan Reddy, Arvind Kejriwal or any other Chief Minister or party chief. That’s despite the fact that the incident gives them a stick to beat the BJP with. Actually, they understand that this arrangement is sometimes a double-edged sword. While it undeniably ups the safety quotient for the protectee, it can also be used to keep a very close eye on him and suffocate him, in a sense. In the same vein, though obviously Owaisi might have been shaken by the February 3 incident, he is wily enough to understand the restrictions that accepting the Government’s security would entail. The BJP-led Government has already been accused of illegally using the Israel-manufactured Pegasus spyware to snoop on a host of professionals including politicians, journalists, industrialists and even NGOs. In such a scenario, it’s not unfathomable that it could use the official (security) apparatus to ferret out information, plans and strategies about Owaisi’s outing in Uttar Pradesh.